Literary Devices

Objective: To analyse various

language devices within creative
writing in preparation for exam in
Week 7
 Key terms
O Theme O Alliteration

O Tone O Imagery
O Metaphor
O Structure
O Simile
O Personal response
O Personification
O Language (see other)
O Rhyme
O Repetition
O Onomatopoeia
O Enjambment
O Hyperbole
O Rhetorical Question
THE MOIST PEARS
T - TONE M - METAPHOR P - PERSONIFICATION

H – HYPERBOLE O - ONOMATOPOEIA
E - ENJAMBMENT

E – EMOTIVE I – IMAGERY
WORDS A - ALLITERATION
S - SIMILE

R – RHYME / REPETITION
T - THEME

S - STRUCTURE
 Tone
It is usually an emotion that the author
is feeling as they write. You can hear it
in the language used.

For example:
bitter
sad
regretful
 Mood
Mood is the feeling a piece of literature arouses
in the reader. It is the atmosphere created by
the author. Mood is often created by setting.
Pathetic fallacy is often a tool used to create
the mood.

Examples:
Joyful, solemn, angry
 Hyperbole
O Pronounced ‘high-per-bowl-ay’

O It is another word for extreme exaggeration and is

used to make a strong point.

For example:
- I felt a thousand eyes on me as I entered the room.
- I’ve told you a million times.
- I am so embarrassed I could die!
 Emotive words
O These are words that create an emotion or show a
strong feeling in the reader.

O ‘Emotive’ comes from the word ‘emotion’.

For example:
heroic
humiliation
brave
heartless
 Metaphor
O A figure of speech that compares unlike
objects. It says something is something that it
is not.

For example:
- The exam was a breeze.
- She was my rock in this situation.
- Your brother is a pig.
 Onomatopoeia
O The use of words whose sounds suggest their
meaning.

For example:
- Bang
- Chuckle
- Splash
- Sizzle
 Imagery
O Imagery is visually descriptive language.

O It allows you to create a picture in your mind with

the poet’s words.

For example:
O He felt like the flowers were waving him a hello.
O A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
 Simile
O A comparison usually using the words ‘like’
or ‘as’.

For example:
- As busy as a bee
- I slept like a log
- Her face was as pale as the moon
 Theme
The central idea of the poem; what
it is about.

For example:
- death
- love
- loneliness
- childhood
 Personification
O When animals or objects are said to have human
characteristics.

For example:
- The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.
- The run down house appeared depressed.
- The wind whispered through the tall, dry grass.
- The storm attacked the town with great rage.
 Enjambment
O When sentences run into the next line with no
punctuation or pause between them.
O Function: Enjambment changes the rhythm of a
poem
For example:
It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a mouse
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquillity.
 Alliteration
O The repetition of one or more initial
consonants in a group of words or lines of
poetry or prose.

For example:
- delicious dinner
- miserable merchant
- fantastic friend
 Rhyme
O Rhyme is when two or more words have the same
sound at the end of a sentence.

O A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes within a

poem

O They are marked like this ABAB or ABACAB etc.

O ***Don’t get confused with rhyme and a rhyming
scheme
 Repetition
O When a word, phrase or sentence is
repeated. A poet does this for effect.
Other names for this are epizeuxis
and anaphora.
 Structure
O How is the poem organised?

O How many stanzas does it have? How many lines?

O When discussing structure, you will examine the

effect its structure has on the theme.

O Is it regular or irregular?
 Personal response
O How do you feel about the poem?

O You can dislike it however you must

have a reason – you can’t say ‘it’s
boring’ or ‘it doesn’t make sense’ or I
don’t understand it’. These are not
acceptable reasons!
O I like this poem because …

Sample
O it is easy to relate to the topic responses
O simple use of descriptive language
O the imagery is very powerful and
appeals to the senses
O the repetition and rhyme make it
enjoyable to listen to
O the poet has used alliteration and personification
to great effect
O the poet deals with an important topic which is
pertinent in today’s society …
What words come to mind
when you see these images?
Clashes and Collisions
What words come to mind?

O https://stcmgcseenglish.wordpress.com/...poetr
y/collection-b-clashes-and-collisions/
O
O These poems look at conflict.

O They look at things in opposition.

O They explore the challenges that people

face.
 Pair Work
Let’s create a short poem about
our delightful Creative Writing
class
Highlight the following:
O Metaphor ENG 2320
O Imagery
O Hyperbole By ‘The
Creative
O Rhyming Scheme Writers’
O Enjambment
O Structure
Fill in the following:
Theme

Style

Tone

Personal response
 Don’t
forget the
pear!
 The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds The wild and woolly walrus waits and wonders when
Alliteration 
in two or more neighbouring words or syllables . we'll walk by.

Holy & stony 

A resemblance of vowel sounds in words or
Assonance  and
syllables.
Feet sweep by sleeping geese.

No pain, no gain.
A word or phrase that has become overly familiar
Cliche  Opposites attract.
or commonplace.
Break a leg.

Mile-high ice-cream cones.

Hyperbole  Big exaggeration, usually with humour. 
I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

Comparing two things by using one kind of object

Her hair was silk.
Metaphor  or using in place of another to suggest the likeness
He was a bull in a china shop.
between them.

Onomatopoei Naming a thing or an action by imitating the sound

Buzz, hiss, roar, woof.
a  associated with it.

The stuffed bear smiled as the little boy hugged him

Personificatio
Giving something human qualities. close.
n 
The moon crept across the sky.

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things

Simile  The sun is like a yellow ball of fire in the sky.
that is often introduced by like or as.